In a digital radio receiver such as an electronic warfare receiver of the moderate cost and complexity type the available instantaneous dynamic range and the single signal dynamic range are two important but significantly different characteristics, characteristics of substantially different numeric magnitude. The first of these characteristics describes the receiver's ability to simultaneously detect two or more signals of differing signal strength at the same instant of time. The second of these characteristics relates to the ability of the receiver to detect a single signal of widely varying signal strength range. In certain of the “Monobit” and related receivers in the previous inventions of several of us and our colleagues (receivers built around the concept of using simplified approximated Kernel function realizations in the included Fourier transformation operation) it is often found that a significant single signal dynamic range is available however the multiple simultaneous signal instantaneous dynamic range characteristic is rather limited. Such receivers are for example disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,793,323; 5,917,737; 5,963,164; 6,448,921 and 6,690,315 and in the U.S. Patent applications assigned the Ser. Nos. 09/917,589; 09/944,616; 10/008,476; 10/115,819 and 10/816,353. Each of these U.S. Patents and Patent Applications is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
Dynamic ranges of 70 and 2 decibels respectively are for example common for these two dynamic range characteristics of simple to moderate complexity digital radio receivers. The latter instantaneous dynamic range characteristic is in most instances less than five decibels in magnitude except in certain limited instances. The more complex and larger versions of a digital receiver of course provide better instantaneous dynamic range characteristics but are found to be unsuitable for some applications because of for example the size and cost they entail. Notwithstanding the limitations posed by the small instantaneous dynamic range of the “Monobit” and related receivers however they serve a growing need particularly in the military electronics art and in the airborne sector of this art; this need especially involves the simple one integrated circuit chip contained, simplified Kernel function version of the digital receiver as may be embodied into a larger system for example. The instantaneous dynamic range characteristics of such receivers may be improved-upon with the aid of the present invention; moreover such improvement can be achieved without compromise of the single signal dynamic range of the receiver and in keeping with the modest cost and size characteristics of the receiver.